Bikes and Broken Hands
by TwistedKeysandSnare
Summary: A day trip to the local park seemed like a great idea to Stef... too bad her kids are reckless and accident prone. Callie/Stef oriented. Some fluff, some deep discussions. Enjoy!


**Bikes and Broken Hands**

Ten-year-old Callie impatiently tapped her fingers on the hardwood floor of her bedroom. She put very little effort into hiding her quickly appearing scowl from her sister, who handed her a Ken doll and a miniature outfit on a tiny hanger.

"Now let's put him in this so he looks very handsome for their date." Mariana gushed. Callie sighed, but did as her sister suggested and fit the miniature suit onto the doll. "Now the date is starting. You be Ken, I wanna be Barbie."

"Of course you do." Callie murmured as Mariana picked up her dolls and set them in little chairs. Mariana spouted off her dialogue for the date, telling Ken in her "Barbie voice" how happy she was to be there with him at the fanciest restaurant in the universe. Callie glanced out the window, eyes gleaming with jealousy as she saw her brothers Jesus and Brandon riding around on bikes through the backyard.

" _Callieeee!"_ Came a whining voice from beside her.

"What?" She replied, annoyed.

"You're not paying attention again! I just asked Ken what he thought I should order!"

 _I don't care what you order._ Callie wanted to say, but she stopped herself. "Big sisters have to put up with that kind of thing," her mom had once told her.

"I dunno… how about a pizza." Callie replied.

" _Callieeee!"_

"What?" She was more annoyed now.

"They're at the fanciest restaurant in the universe! There's no pizza there! There's things like caviar… and liver." Mariana replied matter-of-factly.

"Yuck! Then why are they at that restaurant?" Callie asked, sticking her tongue out.

Mariana shrugged. "Just pay attention. You're no fun to play with when you're thinking about playing boring boy games."

Stef strutted through the hallway on her way downstairs, stopping momentarily to look into her girls' bedroom. She noticed the discomfort on Callie's face at once and paused for a few moments to see what her daughters were up to.

Unaware of their mother's nearby looming, the sisters continued playing their game, with Mariana dictating where Ken should go and what he should say. Stef chuckled quietly. Boy, did Callie look miserable. Callie looked up at her mother with pleading eyes. _Please… get me out of here…_ She tried to transmit to Stef. Stef seemed to get the message, and made a suggestion to the two girls, taking Mariana's attention away from her dolls.

"Hey you two, it is such a beautiful summer day outside. What do you say we put down the dolls for a minute and take a little trip to the park." Stef said.

Callie smiled, trying to seem as aloof as possible. "Sounds good to me."

Stef laughed a little. "Mhmm. I'm sure it does."

Mariana was not so convinced. "But Mom! I wanna play with my dolls! They're at the fanciest restaurant in the universe!" Behind her, Callie mimed the phrase she'd been hearing all afternoon, causing Stef to smile but also to chide Callie's mockery of her sister.

"Hey you! Hush now!" Stef said with a pointed finger, firmly, but with a bit of humor in her voice. She brought her gaze back to Mariana. "You know, Sweetness, when Mama and Jude get back from his math tutoring, I'm sure they'd love to play dolls with you."

Mariana nodded glumly. "No one in the house right now likes playing dolls. Maybe it is better to wait for Mama and Jude… Callie is bad at playing with them anyway."

Callie scoffed, trying to think of a good comeback, but gave up because she didn't want to start a fight with her mother right there.

"Now come on! The park's waiting!" Stef announced, gently pushing Mariana through the threshold of her bedroom and into the hallway. Callie wrapped her arms around Stef and the three walked towards the backyard.

Callie, Mariana, and Stef met up with the two boys and began the short trip to the park. Callie and Mariana each grabbed a bike while Jesus grabbed his skateboard, rolling contentedly beside his sisters on their way to the park. Brandon decided to forgo a bike or skateboard, instead opting to walk beside his mother with a basketball in his hand, dribbling it absentmindedly every so often.

Callie looked very pleased to be out of the house and on a bike alongside her brothers. Jesus called out to her. "Hey, Callie! Wanna race?"

"Yeah!" Callie shouted enthusiastically. She adjusted the backwards baseball cap on her head and squinted her eyes, trying to instill fear in her competition. "Alright… get set… 3… 2…"

Behind them came a voice. "Hey! Hold your horses. No races unless everybody is wearing a helmet."

"But Moooooom!" The siblings said in unison.

"No buts! Either you guys protect those heads or you ride at a walking pace." Jesus pointed to his head. "But look! I'm wearing a helmet, so I'm good to go!"

"It doesn't count unless you buckle the strap, Sweetheart." Stef rationalized.

"But then it doesn't look cool… and it's not as comfortable…" Jesus mumbled.

"Well that's the deal. You coming, Callie?" Stef asked, holding up her daughter's electric blue helmet.

"Yeah I guess…" Callie grumbled, apprehensively handing Stef her favorite baseball cap. Stef set the helmet on her daughter's head and clasped the buckle to secure it. Callie ran back over to her bike and took her starting position behind a break in the sidewalk paneling.

"Alright guys… Ready… 3… 2… 1…" Stef called, and when they heard her yell "go" they both sped off down the sidewalk.

…

"It's not fair," Jesus huffed, catching his breath. "Everyone knows bikes can go faster than skateboards."

"Yeah, when I'm riding one." Callie said proudly.

"Ok, my competitive babies. Let's calm down. See, we're here!" Stef said, trying to stop Callie's boating and Jesus' sulking. The four siblings ran through the park gates and over to the playground, instantly instigating a game of groundies. Stef smiled from her seat on the park bench, watching Callie groan as she realized she had to be "it" first. The siblings played peacefully for ten minutes or so before conflicts began to arise from the little group. Mariana complained that Jesus tagged too hard and Jesus said that he had tagged Brandon fair and square. Stef marched over to the kids in an effort to break up the discrepancies before things got too out of hand.

She crept towards the play structure with her arms raised, then grabbed Mariana from her place on the monkey bars and hoisted her onto her shoulders. "I am the great sea monster! And you are all out, because I will win every game!" She proclaimed, placing Mariana down on the ground before chasing after Brandon and grabbing him from the structure. She managed to scoop up Jesus, leaving her and Callie in a deathmatch, but Stef was ultimately victorious, picking up her daughter and holding her up in the air, shouting, "I win!"

After the kids' giggles died down, they picked up their bikes and things and started pedaling around the park. Brandon and Stef began to face off in a basketball shootout, a competition that was slightly rigged in Brandon's favor. Meanwhile, Callie, Mariana, and Jesus were riding around the sidewalks. Callie and Jesus opted to start another race, leaving Mariana to her own devices. She glanced around the park, and, as though bored with the surrounding scenery, began to pedal across a fairly busy street where there were beautiful flowers at the other side. She had made it across and was nearing the flowers when she suddenly swerved, a patch of sand catching the wheels as she fell on the asphalt – hard. Callie's eyes flew to her sister. She dropped her bike on the ground and stood up.

"Hey… what the…" Jesus started to say before noticing what Callie was so concerned about.

Callie shoved him out of the way and ran towards Mariana. Jesus yelled Stef to come over. She jerked her head towards the direction he was pointing to, watching Callie run across the street as a car horn blared about fifty feet from her daughter.

 _Thank God she didn't get hit._ Stef thought breathlessly, mentally kicking herself for still standing there as she tore off towards her daughters.

"Hey… hey! What is going on here?" Stef asked angrily as she strode over to the pair. Callie was holding Mariana's hand, her arms wrapped around her sister, who was sniffling and cradling her scraped leg.

"Woah…" Stef choked out, seeing the scrape that nearly covered the entirety of Mariana's lower leg. Mariana winced. The problem wasn't with her leg though, it was with her hand, which Callie was holding gently and protectively. Her hand was swollen, and by the looks of it, broken.

"Come here, Miss Thing." Stef cooed. She picked up her injured daughter very carefully, pressing a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Callie. Pick up that bike please." Callie did as she was told, wheeling her sister's bike across the street by her mother's side.

Callie frowned. _Something isn't right here. Mom should be hugging me. I just did something good. I saved her. Mariana's gonna be okay now._

Back across the street, Stef gave the boys her phone to call Lena. She promised to be there in fifteen minutes, so Stef held Mariana as they sat on one of the park benches. "Hey… guys." Stef started, getting the three kids' attention.

"Yeah, Mom?" Brandon asked obediently.

"I want you guys to walk home. You know the way, right?" They nodded. "I will give you my key," She said, reaching into her pocket to grab it, trying not to jostle the quietly crying girl on her lap. "You do not lose this. You will put in the key basket as soon as you get home. Then you lock the door and stay inside, please. No funny business. I mean it. Here." She said, handing the key to Brandon. He looked down pridefully at his siblings.

"I can handle it, Mom. Come on kids, let's go." Brandon said with a smug expression. Callie wanted to punch him in the teeth. Jesus felt similarly, but they both figured that their mother had enough to deal with without them starting a fight. Brandon began escorting them out of the park and back to the house. Callie pushed Mariana's bike, Brandon pushed Callie's bike, and Jesus held the basketball and skated alongside them.

Jesus looked as if he was deep in thought. "What's wrong with you?" Brandon asked.

Jesus glanced at Callie. "Why'd you push me? Why did you run across the street without telling Mom?" Callie shrugged.

"Cause she's dumb, that's why." Brandon said.

Callie stayed silent. Jesus blanched. Callie was never silent, she was always ready with a comeback whenever the situation prompted itself.

"Leave her alone, dude." Jesus responded for his sister.

"It's true! She's done this kind of thing before… Mom and Mama said that she makes reckless decisions… I wouldn't be surprised if they sent her away or something…" Callie gritted her teeth as she tuned them out, focusing on walking back home, but Brandon's words stuck in her head…

She silently entered the house, watching from the corner of her eye as Brandon proudly dropped the key into the basket. She internally scoffed and went upstairs. She sat in her bed, eyes wandering to her sister's part of the room. She saw the dolls and the restaurant and sighed, straying over to straighten them up and put them back in their chairs. She then leaned her chin on the window, watching the street and waiting for her Mom's car to appear with her little sister.

…

"So… these three bones right here are definitely broken." The doctor said, pointing to her X-Ray on her monitor. Stef and Lena squeezed their daughter's shoulders. "…and since she's so young and healthy, these bones should heal in a couple weeks… so this means that you have a very important decision to make, Mariana." Mariana gulped.

The doctor smiled. "What color would you like your cast to be?" She asked, pulling out a box with all sorts of different color samples. Mariana smiled. There were so many to choose from, after all.

"How about black?" Stef asked. "Stef!" Lena said, playfully slapping her arm.

"How about pink?" Lena suggested, finding a hot pink strip of casting tape and holding it up to her daughter.

Mariana shook her head. "I thought pink was your favorite color, Miss." Stef mused.

"It is… but I want to get blue. It's the favorite color of my hero." Mariana said. Stef looked at the ground.

"Oh yeah? And who's your hero?" Lena asked with a smile, looking over at Stef expecting to see an equally curious and happy face. She didn't.

"Callie!" Mariana chimed. "She saved my life!"

The doctor came in and started to wrap her hand in the cast. Lena pulled Stef aside in a corner. "What is she talking about, babe, and why do you look so miserable?" Lena asked. Stef sighed.

"Callie did it again. The recklessness. I thought we were done with that. I thought she learned her lesson after the last few times. She's ten now."

"What happened this time?" Lena asked, concern written all over her face.

"She ran across the street. She saw that Mari fell, she pushed Jesus out of the way, and she sprinted across the street. She was a couple dozen feet from being hit by a car. And all the while, she had no inclination that it might be a good idea to tell me about it. She just went for it, completely disregarding her own safety. I know we tell the kids that it's good to be selfless, but not like this. This is too much. I could have lost her today. Why doesn't she see that?" Stef yelled in a whisper, her emotions started to get the best of her.

Lena leaned forward and wrapped her wife in a hug. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry, babe. I'm sorry you had to witness that. We'll talk to her."

"All we do is talk! And has it ever really made a difference? No! I saw her afterwards, Lena. She wasn't scared. She was looking up at me like I should be giving her praise. She doesn't see it. God… I…" Stef choked on a sob. "I could have lost my baby today." Lena kissed Stef's cheek. "It's gonna be alright. We'll figure this out." Lena whispered.

…

They left the hospital an hour later. Stef was holding a bag of pain medicine and a packet with doctor's orders and Lena held Mariana, who was happily looking down at her bright blue cast with peaked interest. The sun was setting and the wind was gentle, and the three Adams Fosters piled into Lena's car. "Lucky Mike was in the neighborhood and could take Jude." Lena murmured, checking her missed texts. "And look at that! He wants to stay the night!" Stef chuckled. "Let him. We've got enough on our hands already."

…

Callie pressed her nose to the window. She'd been sitting there for hours now, and it was getting far too dark for her to see the cars driving up the street. Just as she was about to back down from the window, a set of headlights beamed up to the driveway. Her heart skipped a beat. She moved to race downstairs but caught herself as she reached for the doorknob to the hallway. _I'm in trouble. They don't want to see me._ She thought, slowly walking back towards her bed. She heard the familiar sound of the front door opening and panicked, turning off her bedside lamp and sliding under the covers, facing away from the door.

She heard the muffled voices of her brothers and moms followed by two sets of footsteps scaling the stairs. She heard the door to her bedroom creak open and the hushed voice of Lena.

"She's sleeping and it's dark. Let's go into our room, Mari." Lena walked out with Mariana in her arms but Callie could feel Stef's lingering stare. She tried to stay completely still, releasing the breath she was holding when she heard Stef exhale with frustration and leave, closing the door behind her.

 _What was going to happen now? What's Mom gonna do?_ She thought, fear running through her head. Callie let a few tears fall down her face.

Back in the master bedroom, Mariana was dressed for bed and cuddled in the center of their bed with a glass of juice and her favorite stuffed animals. Lena looked up as Stef entered. "Did you give her a kiss goodnight or was she out like a rock?" Lena asked.

"She wasn't asleep. I knew that for sure." Stef said bitterly. "Honey." Lena took her wife's hands and looked her in the eye. "Go talk to her. If there's anyone who can get through to her it's you."

"I'd rather she sweat it out for a few days." Stef muttered.

"I know you would. She's ten years old. Go in there and make your daughter understand what she put you through." Lena rubbed the back of Stef's palms with her thumbs.

"Can I have your side of the bed, Mommy?" Mariana piped from the other side of the room.

"Don't count on it, Kid." Stef said, nodding to Lena and walking over to Callie's room.

Stef heard a door open. "Jesus?" She asked, squinting as he crept through the dark hallway towards her.

"Can I tell you something?" Jesus asked.

…

She opened the door to the bedroom. Callie jerked up and looked at her as she stepped in.

"I'm sorry." Callie said quickly, fear laced in her voice.

"Come here." Stef said rather emotionlessly.

"Please, no, I'm sorry." Callie said clinging to her sheets.

"Callie. I'm not kidding. Come with me."

"No! I don't wanna!"

Stef strode forward and picked her up. "NO!" She yelled. Stef was taken aback.

"Hey! Calm down! What is this!" Stef asked in a whisper, hoping Callie would take it as a cue to be quieter.

Callie looked down. "You're gonna send me away… or… or hit me or something. I know I did something really bad. I should have looked both ways… I'm…" Stef cut her off.

"Hey now. You have no reason to be afraid of that happening. I love you so much it hurts. _This_ hurt me, Callie. What you did today hurt me. And it's not your first time doing this either. There was when Jude was too close to the wasp's nest, and when he lost his doll in the rose bush… or the plane in the tree… but this… Callie, this… You didn't see that car coming, and you didn't really care. You just ran into the street… I watched you run into the street. You could have died. You didn't risk a wasp sting, or a prick from a rose, you risked your life. Things happen Callie, and we could have lost you today." Callie's cheeks were soaked with tears, and Stef was barely holding hers in.

"I love that you are so protective of you siblings. It's beautiful… and sweet… and brave… but Baby Girl… you need to worry about yourself for once. I know you've been protecting your little brother your whole life, but you don't need to anymore. You are home, you are adopted, and you need to let yourself accept the fact that we are here to love you forever and always." Stef looked her daughter in the eyes, shaking her shoulder slightly as she talked.

"And why didn't you call me, huh? I was in that park to protect you and your siblings. Why did you think you had to handle it yourself? It's sweet that you have really connected with Mariana and you are protecting her like you always have with Jude, but baby, you have parents, you both do. Do you not trust us? Do you not trust me and Mama to protect you and your brothers and sister?"

Callie sniffled. "No, I do. I love you."

"I know you love me. Do you trust me?" Callie asked, brushing a tear from Callie's chin.

"I… I want to… but it's hard… and Brandon said…" Callie said tearfully.

"I know what Brandon said. Jesus told me."

"It was really mean! But I thought it might be true… that you think I'm dumb and reckless."

"We did have a conversation similar to what he was referring to, sweets. But it was a long time ago and we were very worried about you. But you didn't do anything reckless for a very long time. We thought the problem was solved. And for the record, we never called you dumb."

Callie looked up at Stef, her face puffy and her eyes glistening.

"I really want to trust you. It just seems like something is gonna change. It's been so good for all these years and I just feel like something bad is gonna happen. That's the way this world is."

"Babe, that isn't true. It is true that bad things happen. But this isn't gonna change. I love you just as much as I did on the day I signed the papers giving you my name. More, probably. Things happen, but that's why you have your two mamas to help you sort things out. This is forever. If I have to remind you of that every day of your life for you to believe it, I sure as hell will."

Callie giggled. Stef clamped a hand over her mouth, mentally cursing. "Don't tell Mama I said that." Callie nodded and leaned into Stef's shoulder, her finger wrapping around her nose.

"And Callie… you also should never think that you are going to be hit. We love you so much and we never want to see you hurt. It hurts us, too. When our babies are in pain, we are always going to work to make it better. I know that you've been hurting today. We would never, in a million years, want to add to that pain."

Callie wrapped her arms around Stef and held on tight. Callie felt her mother's strong arms hoist her into her lap as she heard Stef chuckle.

"Since when do you wear jeans to bed?"

"Oh…" Callie said blushing. "I just…"

"Uh-huh. You go grab some pajamas."

After Callie changed, she slipped under the covers next to her mom.

"You're staying with me?" Callie asked hopefully.

"Sure I am. I'm pretty sure your sister stole my spot in my own bed so you're stuck with me anyway, kiddo." Stef heard Callie sniffle.

"Mariana…" She said sadly.

"You'll see her in the morning. She's fine, you're fine, and I am gonna be here all night, so close your eyes and get some rest. I love you, Callie Adams Foster."

"Love you too." Callie said sleepily, turning towards Stef and cuddling into her arms as Stef held her tighter.

 **Author's note:**

 **Wow! Hope you enjoyed my random burst of untamable inspiration. This story just kind of happened in my brain, so it might be totally weird and senseless, but hey, I went for it. As usual, it was pretty heavy on the Stef/Callie, so I hope it was up your alley because I think that they are so damn sweet. Send me a PM or comment if you think that we were totally robbed of Stef and Callie moments at the end of the last season. Like, come on, Bradley Bredeweg! Anyway, I'll end this author's note here and let you guys go on with your lives. Thanks for reading!**

 **-A.J.**


End file.
